Bayern survive scare in hard-fought win over Werder Bremen

Serge Gnabry scored his second goal in two games to help Bayern Munich to a 2-1 win over Werder Bremen on Sunday, moving his side a step closer to an 11th successive Bundesliga title.

Gnabry netted the opener as Bayern battled to a hard-fought win which strengthened their grip on first place and heaped pressure on title rivals Borussia Dortmund.

The league leaders are now four points ahead of Dortmund, who have a game in hand against Wolfsburg on Sunday.

"We've done our job and we have a nice points cushion now. It won't be easy for them against Wolfsburg," said Gnabry.

Bayern toiled in the first half and were lucky not to concede when Christian Gross fired a shot inches over the bar on 35 minutes.

Sadio Mane came close to putting the champions ahead after the break, but it wasn't until just after the hour mark that Gnabry broke the deadlock.

Pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty area, the Germany international slotted the ball past Jiri Pavlenka in the Bremen goal.

Leroy Sane added a second from the bench ten minutes later, before Niklas Schmidt pulled a goal back with a spectacular long-range effort.

But that wasn't enough for Bremen to avoid a 13th straight home defeat to Bayern, in a run stretching back to 2009.

"We have to play completely without egos in the last few games. It's all about getting over the line now," said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel.